Garden tool



Dec, 29, 1936. C, R, FISH, JR 2,065,678

GARDEN TOOL Filed July 17, 1935 ff/arf?? Patented Dec. 29, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARDEN TOOL Charles R. Fish, Jr., Worcester, Mass.

Application July 17, 1935, Serial No. 31,788

8 Claims. (Cl. 111-96) My present invention relates to gardening thereto in any suitable manner,'the hollow post tools and implements, and has particular referbeing adapted to be forced into the ground and ence tov tools utilized for facilitating the feeding below the surface to a desired extent, by means of fertilizer to trees, shrubs, and lawns. of foot or hand pressure, the end of the hollow It has heretofore been diiiicult to apply fertipost having a self seating self centering Valve I5 lizer beneath the surface of the ground so as to at the vend thereof, which further functions as a directly reach the soil portions to be fertilized, penetration point, whereby the valve may be and it has been usual to make holes in the ground moved to open position after the post has been by means of crowbars or earth augers, and then inserted in the ground, for permitting outflow l0 to ll the holes with fertilizer. These methods of fertilizer fromwithin the hollow post to ll 10 entail a great deal of labor, and have the furthe hole produced by its penetration in the ther disadvantage that it is diieult to prevent ground. Preferably, the fertilizer reservoir is in movement of the soil after the hole has been the form of a flexible bag mounted around the made, whereby the hole tends to fill up before Center post, and the valve is controlled from the the fertilizer can be inserted therein. upper end of the post by means of a rigid conl5 It is the principal .object of my invention to necting rod or the like, whereby hardening of devise a simple construction of gardening tool the fertilizer may be overcome when it is in the which facilitates the positioning of fertilizer at Supply bag, by Dressing the bag gently With the the points most effective for producing the delingers, and is Overcome when in the central sired results, post, by movement of the connecting rod, which 120 It is a further object of my invention to prothus additionally functions as an agitating vide a construction which is portable, readily means.

manufactured and assembled, is easily manipu- Referring to the drawing, the preferred emlated, and produces the desired results with a bodlment of my invention includes a central holminimum of labor, low post ill which has a hollow tip portion II se- :"25

It is an additional object of my invention to cured thereto as by means of asleeve I2 threadedprovide a construction which may be utilized for 1y mounted on the contiguous post and tip ends. applying solid fertilizer in the manner described, The Centlal pOSf has a plurality 0f Openings I3 in and is equally eicacious for the application of the lower portion thereof for permitting fertilizer liquid solutions of fertilizer material. to enter therein from a fertilizer container I4 30 With the above and other objects and advanwhich is preferably made of flexible material such tageous features in view, my invention consists as impregnated textile material or the like, the of a novel arrangement of parts more fully dislower end of the container i4 being secured to the closed in the detailed description following, in post lil above the sleeve I2 by means of a suitable conjunction with the accompanying drawing, clamp I5 and the upper end of the bag'having a 135 and more specifically defined in the claims apflap I6 having an opening Il reenforced byametal pended thereto. eyelet I8 and adapted to be seated over an up- Referring to the drawing, standing boss I 9 of a cap 20 threadedly seated Fig. 1 is an elevation of the novel gardening upon the upper end of the post I il. As best shown tool; in Figs. 2 and 4, the end of the tip I I is generally 40 Fig. 2 is a central vertical section thereof on curved as indicated at 2| and is closed by a self the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; seating tapered valve 22, the inner portion 23 Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2, thereof being tapered to always be centered in the and open end of the tip II, and the outer portion 24 Fig. 4 is a detailed sectional view of the lower being tapered to facilitate insertion of the tip end 245 end of Fig. 1, the parts being in position for the into the ground and to act as a penetrating point distribution of fertilizer. therefor. A valve connecting rod 25 extends up- It has been found advisable to provide a simwardly from the valve 22 and through the tip and ple gardening tool which will make the insertion central post and then through the cap 20 and boss of fertilizer around the roots of trees and shrubs I9, the end of the valve connecting rod having a 50 and below the surface of lawns a relatively simmanually engageable button 26 threaded thereon ple, quick, and easy process. To this end I or otherwise attached thereto, a coil spring 2'! have devised a construction which consists of a extending between the button and the cap 2) so as central hollow post which may be fed the ferti- 'to resiliently urge the valve through its connectlizer from a reservoir or supply bag attached ing rod to closed position, and to lock the flap I 6 455 of the container i4 in place. The sleeve I2 is preferably formed, as indicated in Fig. 1, with two integral arms 28, having upper surfaces 29 for engagement by the foot of an operator, and the cap 20 has two handles 30 formed integral therewith, and adapted to be grasped by the hands of the operator. The flexible container I4 may, if desired, have strings 3l or other securing means attached thereto, for the purpose of tying the upper end of the container I4 so as to keep the fertilizer therein, if desired. The operation of the novel garden tool may now be explained. The perator fills the container I4 with dry fertilizer, and then presses the tip end II into the ground at the desired place, pressing downwardly with his foot on an arm 28 and with his hands on the handles 30, whereby the penetrating point of the valve and the curved end of the tip permits easy penetrating movement o-f the tool. When the tool has penetrated to a sufficient depth the operator then presses on the button 26, thus moving the end of the valve away from the tip, and, as indicated in Fig. 4, permitting release of the fertilizer, which descends by means of gravity into the opening, the tool being gradually withdrawn so as to completely fill the opening with fertilizer. If desired, the tool may be rocked on the arms 29 as a fulcrum, thus enlarging the opening produced below the ground so as to increase the amount of fertilizer fed thereto, or the whole tool may be moved back and forth by a swinging or rotary motion so as to produce as large a recess in the ground as desired.

Instead of using gravity it is possible to employ compressed air by attaching a compressed air nipple to the hollow post, and making such other necessary changes as Will appear evident to any skilled mechanic, or liquid solutions may be fed into the ground by inserting the end of a solution hose into the container, or by inserting the end of a hose into the container to Wash down and to dissolve the solid fertilizer added or placed in the container, or by attaching the hose connection to the post or handle, as the handle is preferably hollow to reduce weight and to facilitate circulation of air through the hollow post to keep it and the material in the post and the container dry.

If the dry fertilizer packs in the container, it may be readily broken up by grasping the outside of the container with the hand and pressing; the up and down movement of the connecting rod also acts as an agitating means for preventing packing or caking of the fertilizer in the center post and the hollow tip. The self seating valve automatically returns to its seat upon release of pressure upon the button 26 so as to completely seal the end of the penetrating point H, it being preferred that the opening at the end of the penetrating tip be shaped to act as a valve seat for cooperating with the tapered inner end of the valve 22.

The parts are preferably made with threaded connections, to facilitate assembly and replacements and to permit shipment of the parts in a dismantled state so as to ensure compactness in shipments. Moreover, different interchangeable lengths of penetrating tips may be provided, and different lengths of connecting rods to match, to provide for different depths of penetration.

While I have described a specific application of my invention to a gardening tool, it is obvious that the principle of the invention may be applied y to other tools, for use in supplying any material ,y or any solution to a recess below a surface, and

that the material used for the various parts, the

shape of the various parts, and their relative sizes, and functions, may be changed to meet the desires for different types of feeding tools having surface penetrating points without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a hollow center post having a, penetrating tip, means for supplying material to the interior thereof comprising a material container mounted on said post and inlet openings extending through the lower end of said post, means associated with said post for applying manual pressure thereto, and manually operable valve means at the end of the post tip for permitting controlled outflow of material from said post tip end.

2. In combination, a hollow center post having a penetrating tip, means for supplying material to the interior thereof, comprising a material container mounted on said post and inlet openings extending through the lower end of said post, means associated with said post for applying manual pressure thereto, means for agitating material in said hollow center post, and manually operable valve means at the end of the post tip for permitting controlled outflow of material from said post tip end.

3. In combination, a hollow center post having a penetrating tip, means for supplying material to the interior thereof comprising a material container mounted on said post and inlet openings extending through the lower end of said post, a cap on the upper end of said post, a valve seat on the lower end of said post, a self seating Valve on said valve seat, a connecting rod attached to said valve and extending through said post and said cap, a manually engageable portion on the end of said rod, and a spring contacting said portion and said cap for normally urging said valve to closed position.

4. In combination, a hollow center post having a detachably mounted penetrating tip, means for supplying material to the interior thereof comprising a material container mounted on said post and inlet openings extending through the lower end of said post, a cap on the upper end of said post, a valve seat on the lower end of said post, a self seating valve on said valve seat, a connecting rod attached to said valve and extending through said post and said cap, a manually engageable portion on the end of said rod, and a spring contacting said portion and said cap for normally urging said valve to closed position.

5. In combination, a hollow center post having a detaehably mounted penetrating tip, manually engageable pressure elements mounted adjacent said penetrating point, means for supplying material to the interior thereof comprising a material container mounted on said post and inlet openings extending through the lower end of said post, a cap on the upper end of said post,

a valve seat on the lower end of said post, a self seating valve on said valve seat, a connecting rod attached to said valve and extending through said post and said cap, a manually engageable portion on the end of said rod, and a spring contacting said portion and said cap for normally urging said valve to closed position.

6. In combination, a hollow center post having a detachably mounted penetrating tip, manually engageable pressure elements mounted adjacent said penetrating point, means for supply- -ing material to the interior thereof, a cap on the upper end of said post, handles at the upper end of the post, a conical valve seat on the lower end of said post, a self seating valve on said valve seat, a connecting rod attached to said valve and extending through said post and said cap, a manually engageable portion on the end of said rod, and a spring contacting said portion and said cap for normally urging said valve to closed position.

7. In combination, a hollow center post having a detachably mounted penetrating tip, manually engageable pressure elements mounted adjacent said penetrating pont,'means for supplying material to the interior thereof, a cap on the upper end of said post, handles at the upper end of the post, a conical valve seat on the 10W- er end of said post, a self seating valve on said valve seat, a connecting rod attached to said Valve and extending through said post and said cap, a manually engageable portion on the end of said rod, and a spring contacting said portion and said cap for normally urging said valve to closed position.

8. In combination, a hollow center post having a detachably mounted penetrating tip, manually engageable pressure elements mounted adjacent said penetrating point, means for supplying material to the interior thereof, comprising a material container mounted on said post and inlet openings extending through said post, a, cap on the upper end of said post, a conical valve seat on the lower end of said post, a self seating valve on said valve seat, a connecting rod attached to said valve and extending through said post and said cap, a manually engageable portion on the end of said rod, and a spring contacting said portion and said cap for normally urging said valve to closed position.

CHARLES R. FISH, JR. 

